A low-cost approach to fabricating interdigitated back contact cells is carried out on the principle of screen-printing a material that serves both to dope the rear surface and as a diffusion barrier to the dopant species of the opposite polarity. With this technique, an interdigitated pattern of n(+) and p(+) regions is formed on the cell back. Shunt-free rear interdigitated junctions are achieved. This work produced a cell with confirmed conversion efficiency of 10.5%. Areas for further efficiency gains are discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.